St. Moses (The Black) skit

This skit was created for a regional Sunday School conference held in Detroit. The kids were give 45 mins to learn about St. Moses and to learn this skit.  Then they were to perform it later that evening.  (You can watch the performance from the regional here.)

 

 

Narrator: St. Moses the Black was a big scary guy. He was a slave who lived in Egypt and was kicked out of Egypt because of stealing and murdering. He then became the leader of gang bandits and had a reputation for violence and terror. He roamed along the Nile Valley. One time, Moses tried to rob somebody, but a sheep dog was barking and Moses couldn’t go through with the robbery. He was so mad that he wanted to get back at the owner of the dog who was a shepherd.

    So one night, he swam across the river, while holding the knife with the teeth. The dog started barking again, and the shepherd hearing this, went and hid. Moses couldn’t find the shepherd so he stole 4 sheep. He took them across the river, sold the skin for wine, ate the sheep and then walked back to his camp. The police were looking for him because of all the robberies and so he went and hid in a monastery. While in hiding, Moses was deeply influenced by the monks and decided to give up his old ways. He became a Christian and was eventually baptized into the monastery.

Becoming a monk wasn’t easy for Moses. It was a hard life to adjust to because monks are usually quiet and reserved but the life Moses led was very adventurous. Once, while he was staying at the monastery, 4 robbers came and tried to attack him, but he was stronger and fought them all and tied them together. He dragged the robbers to where the other monks were praying.

Moses: Fellow monks, I don’t think it is Christian-like to hurt other people, what should I do?

Narrator: Hearing this, the robbers realized the wrong they did, and repented, and eventually became monks at the same monastery. Moses always had a positive attitude with everything he did, but he started to feel discouraged because he felt he wasn’t perfect enough. So he went and talked to St. Isadore, the leader of the monks. St. Isadore took him to the roof and together they watched the sunrise.

Moses: What are we doing here?

St. Isadore: Only slowly do the rays of the sun drive away the night and usher in a new day, and thus, only slowly does one become a perfect contemplative.

Moses: I don’t understand

St. Isadore: In the bible, Ephesians 4:16, it says, “from him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work.” It takes time for even the smallest part of your body to grow. By giving it time, we grow stronger and learn to love ourselves and each other. Just like that, for you to be perfect, it’s going to take time.

Moses: Ohhh! I understand now!

Narrator: A couple weeks later, Moses was invited to attend a meeting to talk about one of the brothers that committed a sin. Moses refused to go but the other monks persuaded him to come. When he came to the meeting he was carrying a basket with filled with sand on his back, but the basket had a hole in the bottom. When he arrived, another monk looked at him with a confused face.

Monk 1: What is this?

Moses: My sins run out behind me and I do not see them, but today I am coming to judge the errors of another.

Narrator: After hearing this, the other monks realized the wrong they did, and forgave the monk. Eventually, Moses became a spiritual leader in his colony, and later, he was ordained as a priest (which is uncommon for desert monks). When he was 75 years old, he heard about a group of robbers who planned to attack the colony.

Monk 2: Let’s fight back!!

Rest of the monks: Yea! We should!

Moses: No, my fellow brothers. We shouldn’t do that. Rather than picking up our swords, we should back down.

Narrator: On July 1st, the robbers came and attacked their colony. Moses and 7 other monks stayed and greeted the invaders with open arms, but they were all killed by the rebels. St. Moses is known as the apostle of nonviolence. In the beginning, Moses was a slave, a murdered, and a robber, but after repenting to God, he became a teacher, a comforter, and a priest. He is still mentioned on the altar and in our prayers.